There are reported to be over 1000 gem mining operations in Mogok, some legal and some illegal. The legal operations work in partnership with the local authorities, whilst the illegal operations are clandestine. There are some large scale joint ventures between the authorities and Chinese companies.

People have been mining for gems in Mogok for many hundreds of years. The Mogok Stone Tract has produced many of the world's finest coloured gems. Despite the reports in the Western media, I found no evidence of mistreatment, no slave labour, no forced drug taking/addiction or any of the other tales pedalled in the western press. There are approximately half a million people living in Mogok and virtually every person I came across is involved in the gem trade in one way or another. Many of the individuals and small enterprises make their living from dealing in Mogok's gems.

Bawpadan, Mogok

A ruby mine at Bawpadan.

The mines are tunnelled into the marble hills.

Trucks like this are fairly common sight in Mogok.

Miners in a ruby mine at Bawpadan.

Dynamite is used a lot in Mogok to blast through

the marble rock.

Ah-Sein-Taw

Two miners taking a break.

A pulsating jig at the entrance to a ruby mine. the miners bring barrows of soil from the mine to be washed at the jig.

Miners in the mine next to sacks of soil waiting to be loaded onto the barrow.

Dynamite stacks like this are a common sight in Mogok. It is also not unusual to see people smoking close by. This pile here would cause one hell of an explosion if it were to be ignited.

Washing the soil from the mine.

Washing the gravel by hand so even the smallest rubies don't slip away.

Drinking tea with the manager of a ruby mine at Ah-Sein-Taw.

Kadoketat

There are many mining concessions which were given to ethnic groups as part of peace settlements with the Burmese government. Each plot is fenced off and worked on by ex-insurgent groups.

Each of these mining concessions are self supporting organisations.

There are eight shafts at this concession, all being worked. This is the top of shaft 5. The on-site geologist inspects each shaft and instructs the miners in which direction they should dig.

A 'customised' truck transporting marble boulders for processing.

Workers constructing pulsating jigs to process the production from the 8 shafts.

Workers smashing open the marble boulders to retrieve the rubies from inside.

The Peridot Mines at Pyaung Gaung

Miners taking a break at the top of the peridot mine shaft at Pyaung Gaung.

Looking down the shaft of a peridot mine at Pyaung Gaung. This is a more traditional style of mining in Mogok which the locals call Labin.

Moments after these two miners arrived at the surface there were two explosions which shook the ground beneath my feet. This made me wonder just how big an explosion there would be if one of the piles of sticks of dynamite were to go up!

More dynamite.